Year 8 Parental Information Evening Preparing for the Year 8 Exams - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Year 8 Parental Information Evening Preparing for the Year 8 Exams

This evening’s presenters Peter Morris – How to Revise Effectively  Victoria Phelps – Year 8 Exams in English  Mike Penhale – Year 8 Exams in Maths  John Stokes – Year 8 Exams in Science 

Recall after Learning Without revision

Recall after Learning To stop the drain from the brain, the brain needs regular recall and review exercises. After a 1 hour learning period …  First review after 10 minutes  2 - 4 minute review after 24 hours  2 minute review after 1 week  2 minute review after 1 month

Recall after learning With revision review learning 2 min and so on ... 2 min review after 10 2-4 min review after 1 month review after mins after 1 24 hours week

So what do I need to do?

So what do I need to do? Learners need to: be resilient be independent respond positively to setbacks

So what do I need to do?

Effective reading 1. Skim or survey ◦ Check relevance - date of publication, author, title ◦ Contents page - which chapters should you read? Don't assume you should read a book from cover to cover Overview - Read ◦ Introduction - what is the author's intention? Skim - What • Be purposeful - question Beginning effectively - ◦ Ask yourself: Why read this? is relevant? ◦ Which areas are of specific interest? ◦ How will it help my studies? & end? Key points? ◦ Is it worth reading? 1. Quickly read the opening and closing paragraphs and then the first and last chapters to make your judgement. • Read effectively ◦ Get a feel for the chapter/passage - read it quickly Do you understand it? ■ What is the key point the author is making? ■ What is the main point of each paragraph - there should only be one! ■ ◦ Sort out: The facts ◦ Examples and illustrations ◦ The author's own ideas Recall - Review - ◦ Evaluate How convincing are these ideas? ■ Make notes Do you have all the facts? ■ Check your Are there contrary examples to those given? ■ Can you think of alternative theories? ■ from memory. notes against What are the consequences of these alternatives as opposed to the author's suggestions? ■ • Remember what you've read or recall Key points? ◦ Having read a complex passage or chapter, try to note down, without looking, the key points of what you have read the text. ◦ Try to think of a couple of the main examples given • Check your memory or review ◦ Check your notes against the passage ◦ Correct and amend ◦ Make sure you have covered the key point of each paragraph

Memory Skills 1 Use IMAGINATION to make it OUTSTANDING 2 ASSOCIATE it to something you already know 3 CONDITION its RECALL until you can’t get it wrong

Memory Skills Key principles 1 Use your senses

Memory Skills Key principles 2 Include movement

Memory Skills Key principles DESCRIBE the pirate. 3 Use Write down at exaggeration least 7 things.

Memory Skills Key principles 4 Use colour if a x 2 + b x + c = 0 x = -b ± √( b 2 - 4ac) 2a

Memory Skills Key principles 4 Use colour if a x 2 + b x + c = 0 x = -b ± √ (b 2 - 4ac) 2a

Memory Skills Key principles 4 Use colour if a x 2 + b x + c = 0 x = -b ± √( b 2 - 4ac) 2a

Memory Skills Key principles T 4 Use colour

Memory Skills Key principles Out, out, brief candle! 5 The more Life's but a walking shadow, a poor absurd the player better That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more:

Memory Skills Key principles Easy to Hard to learn learn 6 Create links

Memory Skills Key principles 6 Create links Most very easy methods just select unusual novelty photos. My very educated Helium mother just spiced up nine planets Come up Neon with one of Argon your own Krypton for the Xenon Noble Gases. Radon

Memory Skills Key principles 7 Use humour

Memory Skills 1 Use your Key principles senses 2 Include movement 3 Use exaggeration 4 Use colour 5 The more absurd the better 6 Create links 7 Use humour

Memory Skills What were they again? 1 Use your 2 Include senses 3 Use movement exaggeration 4 Use colour 5 The more absurd the better 6 Create links 7 Use humour 8 Use images

Revising? Really?

Free Stuff Try this. Available from www.thinkbuzan.com/uk/ You can trial it for 30 days. If you decide not to buy it, they let you keep a basic version for free … The basic version is fine for school revision. Try this revision website. www.getrevising.co.uk. Loads of revision tips and revision planning tools

English Development Stage Internal Exams and assessment

How does my child gain their overall level in English? At Gordano, we use a national strategy called Assessing Pupil Progress (APP). It breaks down English into core skills such as: -Retrieving facts and information from texts -Reading between the lines and inferring hidden meanings -How accurately they can use punctuation and grammar -How well they can organise and structure their writing. We have an internal tracking system where their English teacher records their levels in each particular skill.

How does my child gain their overall level in English? All through the year, their English teacher has been keeping a track of how they’ve been doing. How well they do in their exams will be added into these records. An overall level will be given at the end of the year based on how they have performed across the two key skills areas during the year: Reading Writing

What level should my child achieve? -The national average for students at KS3 is a Level 5/6. However, it is worth noting that at Gordano our KS3 levels are generated at the end of Year 8, as opposed to many other schools who have a three year KS3. Last year, 84% of students achieved a Level 5 or above, with 100% of the cohort achieving Level 4 or above. -Your child will have been given a target level for the end of the year, based on prior attainment at KS2 and their CATs scores. This is the level that your child should be working towards.

What’s on the papers? Reading • 1 hour and 15 minutes • There will be two non-fiction texts to read and a series of short questions on them. The questions will say which of the Reading Assessment Focuses (RAFs) you need to think carefully about when answering. Focus on: Finding relevant quotes. (RAF2) Reading between the lines. (RAF3) Explaining how structure creates an effect. (RAF4) Explaining how words create an effect. (RAF5) Explaining a writer’s views. (RAF6)

Writing • 45 mins • One piece of non-fiction writing – it will be a letter Skills being tested: • Writing for the correct audience and purpose • ACCURACY (mind those commas and full stops!) • Controlled, organised and interesting. • Use techniques and devices e.g. repetition and rhetorical questions if you are writing to persuade.

• How can your child prepare? - Nag their teachers: make sure they know exactly how to get the level they want overall, particularly if they’re on a 4a or a 5a! - Revise: There’s a section on the Gateway under Year 8 English called ‘Year 8 Revision resources’ – lots of activities for reading and writing. - There are also useful activities on the BBC Bitesize website under KS3 English Reading and Writing. - ELPs/revision homework pieces being set will be tailored to help students achieve their best in the exams.

- Reflect: Look at their previous assessments and comments in your book – what has their teacher said they need to do to improve? -Practise at home: Write a persuasive letter for their teacher to look over...

How can I help my child prepare at home? 1.Direct them to the revision resources on the Gordano Learning Gateway. 2.Ask them about the homework and Extended Learning being set in class at the moment. 3.Encourage them to attempt tasks independently to show to their teacher: a letter to the headteacher about a school issue they’re passionate about, or an article about their favourite computer game for a teenage magazine.

How can I help my child prepare at home? The websites underneath also have useful resources to help with improving reading and writing skills: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/reading/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english/writing/ http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar _tutorial/page_41.htm

MATHEMATICS - END OF DEVELOPMENT STAGE EXAMS TIPS 4 THE TOP

Which papers will students be taking?  The papers are the Key Stage 3 SATs in all but name. They have been created centrally but will be marked in school.  There are 4 tiers of entry: Levels 3-5, 4-6, 5-7 and 6-8. Each student will be entered for a tier appropriate to his/her ability and should know what this is!  Papers (spread over 2 days): - Paper 1: Calculator not allowed (1 hour written paper) - Mental Arithmetic paper (20 minute listening paper) - Paper 2: Calculator allowed (1 hour written paper)